Category: Announcement

When people contact me with reports that RSVPMaker is misbehaving in some way on their websites, figuring out whether the problem is due to a flaw in my code and/or interaction with some other plugin is tricky business. This can be made more complicated by WordPress features that hide error and warning messages from being publicly displayed — a good practice, but one that can frustrate access to debugging information.

Here’s the debug logging setup I recommend adding to wp-config.php – so you can track down errors when necessary without them being publicly displayed:

The debug file location will vary based on your server setup, but for example on my sites /home/mysite/public_html/ is where publicly visible files go, so /home/mysite/ is a more secure location for a debug log that you don’t want someone attacking your site to be able to access (bugs are sometimes opportunities for hacks).

Should come before the line that says:

/* That’s all, stop editing! Happy blogging. */

Note: these debug log files can grow large after a while, so you might have to periodically delete the file and then let it regenerate as new error and warning messages are generated. Then go try to perform whatever action wasn’t working for you.

On systems that include the Cpanel utility (or something similar), I typically use that to view and delete log files.

The basic idea behind RSVPMaker is that every event is a post — an event post, rather than a blog post — meaning you use all the same authoring and editing tools, but event posts have a date and time associated with them.

When you add a new event post, you will be prompted to enter the date and time up front, along some basic details like whether you want to collect RSVPs (registrations). You can also use RSVPMaker to announce events for which no registration is required.

Once an event post is loaded into the editor, you can change the date and time using a calendar widget that appears in the sidebar (assuming you’re using the Gutenberg editor introduced with WordPress 5.0). To change other parameters, including pricing for an events you charge for, navigate to the RSVP / Event Options screen associated with each post.

You will see several submenu options under RSVP / Event Options, which will take you to the screens for customizing confirmation and reminder messages and for customizing the registration form.

In RSVPMaker, your confirmation message is also modeled at as a WordPress post that you can edit as you would any other content. Reminder messages work much the same way, except that they have a specific interval relative to your event date / time associated with them. The reminder message headline becomes the subject line of the email message, and the body copy becomes the content of the email message.

The RSVPMaker form is modeled as a series of custom content blocks that specify the data you want to gather from each person who registers (details).

When you are editing a form, a confirmation message, or a reminder message, you will see a navigation option in the black admin menu at the top of the screen that allows you to navigate back to editing or viewing the parent event post. First, make sure you save your work.

Multi-Date Events and Event Templates

RSVPMaker allows you to create a single event that stretches across multiple dates — so one registration (if you’re taking registrations) for an event that lasts all weekend.

The more common requirement is to support events that recur on a weekly or monthly schedule, with many of the details repeated each time. For example, the local Chamber of Commerce holds a breakfast meeting on the first Wednesday of the month at a standard location, and the phone number to call with questions is always the same. We need to be able to account for occasions when the schedule or meeting place changes, and we want to be able to add details about a specific month’s event.

For that, use an Event Template. The template defines the standard meeting schedule and the details that should be included in every event listing by default. From an Event Template, you can create a series of events along the projected schedule (all those first Wednesdays in my example). Each of these events will include the content and the settings specified in the template, including details like event pricing.

Each individual event can then be edited individually, for example to add the names of a guest speaker. If the Event Template changes, perhaps because your standard meeting place has changed, you can update any previously published future events with the new details. (More about Events and Event Templates).

Many event parameters can also be changed on the RSVPMaker Settings screen on the WordPress dashboard. For example, you can specify whether the feature for collecting RSVPs should be on or off by default. A link from the settings screen allows you to create a standard RSVP form to be used if a custom one has not been defined.

The settings screen is also where you would enter the required credentials for the PayPal or Stripe payment services or the MailChimp email broadcast service.

One of the keys to using RSVPMaker effectively is taking advantage of event templates. Like the rest of RSVPMaker, the templates feature has been updated for the new Gutenberg editor.

Templates allow you to create one or many events that follow a regular schedule and that share some basic details like meeting location and who to contact with questions.

Think of it like the relationship between the cookie and the cookie cutter, where you can stamp out one or many cookies that start out the same, but you still have the option of decorating them all differently, with details specific to a particular event date.

On the other hand, if you’ve created many placeholder events based on your template and you change the template (say, because your meeting location has changed) — you can update those related events. You can update them all, or update them selectively (if you don’t want to overwrite information you’ve added for a specific event date).

The whole idea behind RSVPMaker is to allow you to take advantage of the familiar WordPress user interface for content creation and editing, while adding the event dates and registration form options that allow you to display even posts on a calendar and/or chronological listing of events, collect RSVPs (or registrations) and charge for events when appropriate.

The latest versions of the software have gotten away from trying to cram all the options onto one screen — which I hope is an improvement — but it means you need to understand the relationships between the different screens available to you.

These include:

• The Settings screen for RSVPMaker, which is where you can set defaults for most event options, plus settings related to email notifications, email broadcasts (Mailchimp integration) and payment processing (integration with PayPal and Stripe).
• The Event Setup screen, displayed whenever you choose Add New for RSVP Events — prompts you to specify the date and time, plus some other key settings (RSVPs on or off?) before filling in the event description details. The Event Setup screen is shown above.
• The event template variation of that same screen, used to define events that occur on some regular schedule (such as every Friday or first and second Monday) along with the defaults for events in that series (RSVPs on? etc.).
• The WordPress editor — works the same as for any other post, but with a few RSVPMaker-specific controls in the sidebar and more available through the “admin bar” (the black bar that appears at the top of the screen when you are logged in as an author or editor).
• The confirmation and reminder messages, which you also work with in the WordPress editor. Look for the admin bar menu items that allow you to navigate back to the parent event post.
• The RSVP Form, where each registration field is modeled as a special block in Gutenberg. You can add or modify fields, including text entry, textarea, select, and radio button fields, and the optional guest data block.

Some of these options may not appear if you are not using Gutenberg, the new editor introduced with WordPress 5.

Here’s a visual tour:

When you save your options on the Event Setup screen, RSVPMaker creates a draft post with the headline, event date, and other basic options set. You can now add whatever body copy you want your event post to have.

More event options are presented on a separate RSVP / Event Options screen. When you are viewing a post in the editor or on the website (when logged in), you will see RSVP / Event Options as a link on the admin bar with several submenu items.

When you are on the options screen, you will see Edit Event as a link on the admin bar with several submenu items related to customizing confirmation / reminder messages or customizing the form.

You can set the default documents for Confirmation Message and RSVP Form from the RSVPMaker Settings screen. New events you post will use these default documents unless you create custom ones for your event.

You can also create templates for specific types of events, with a Confirmation Message and RSVP Form that may be different from your overall default but will be copied to all events based on the template. (More about event templates below).

Recommendations: Customize the confirmation message to include details people will need to know to attend your event, such as directions to the venue and a number to call with questions.

Change the RSVP Form if the default options don’t make sense for your event (for example, when registering attendees at a webinar, the guest fields probably aren’t necessary) and to gather additional information, such as the name of the person who referred the attendee to your organization.

When you create a custom Confirmation Message or custom RSVP Form for a specific event (or template), you will see options to allow you to navigate back to the parent event (in either viewing or editing mode) on the admin bar.

When you edit the form, each form field is represented as a content block with properties including Label, Required, and Include on Guest Form displayed in the sidebar on the right hand side of the editor. (More about the form editor).

To create a template instead of an individual event, look for the New Template link on the Event Setup screen. You can also go to the Event Templates screen and click Add New at the top of that page.

On the template version of the screen, you set a schedule rather than specifying a specific date. Unless you merely choose to say that the schedule “Varies” (meaning you’ll specify the date each time), the schedule will be something like “Every Friday” or “First Monday” or “Second and Fourth Tuesday.”

After you enter your template content and save it, you will be prompted to “create / update events” based on the template. The template itself isn’t meant to appear publicly on your website and won’t be included on the calendar.

Think of the cookie versus the cookie cutter. The template is a cookie cutter, which you can use to stamp out many cookies and then decorate them individually. But you don’t eat the cookie cutter.

Templates typically include “boilerplate” details that are the same for all your events, or almost all of them.

The create / update routine allows you to create one or more events based on your template. Both the body copy for the event and the associated settings (RSVPs on/off, confirmation message, etc.) will be copied.

You can create many events according to your schedule and then add details to them as each event date draws closer. For example, you may publish a whole series of events for a club or professional organization, then add the names of speakers when you want to promote a specific event.

When you update your template, you have the option of updating all the events based on the template. An example would be if your standard meeting location changes, or you now want people to call a different number if they have questions.

RSVPMaker tries to warn you if any of those events have been modified independently. For example, perhaps we’ve added speaker or activity details to the April 12 event shown above. We might want to uncheck that one and make any modifications to it manually.

If all goes well, the result is an interactive calendar that allows you to promote and organize your events more effectively.

If you install RSVPMaker version 6.0+ and are running WordPress 5.0 or later, you will have the option of activating a new RSVP registration form that you can customize using Gutenberg, the new WordPress visual editor. One of the reasons I like Gutenberg is that it makes it easier to define visual components for content creation that happen to lend themselves well to many of my projects.

The new form builder makes it much easier to customize what fields are included, what the labels on those fields are, and the order in which they are presented, both for the person filling out the form and any guests included in their party.

As before, the default form asks for:

• First Name, Last Name, and Email
• A single phone number, with a drop down list for specifying whether it is a mobile, home, or work number
• A section for adding the names of guests
• A note field where the person registering can add a comment

You can delete any of these fields and add others. You can determine which fields are required and which ones should also show up in the guest section (if you’ve included the guest section).

Here’s an example of the default form for Online Presenters Toastmasters, a public speaking and professional development club that meets online and focuses on the skills you need to present online. There’s no guest section (that’s more appropriate for offline events like luncheons) but we gather some other information about our guests.

The only field that is absolutely required is email. You can change the label on that one, but a validated email address is required or the form submission will not be processed. Previously, first and last name were also mandatory — and they are still required by default — but you can now specify that they are not required, or not include one or both of those fields on your form. I’ve had people ask for the option of creating simpler forms where they may ask for just the first name or just a nickname, or just an email address and nothing else. Again, that might be appropriate for certain informal online events or for attracting a privacy-conscious crowd.

To see the available form components, type rsvpfield in the block chooser popup or enter /rsvpfield as a slash command on a blank line.

Like all content blocks, these form builder blocks have options specific to their content type. Typically, those options will be displayed in the sidebar on the right hand side of the page (if you don’t see it, click the gear symbol and select the Block tab).

Text field options:

• Label
• Required (yes/no)
• Include on guest form (yes/no)

Textarea options:

• Label
• Required (yes/no)
• Include on guest form (yes/no)

Radio Buttons / Select (Drop-Down Field)

• Label
• Include on guest form (yes/no)
• Choices, separated by a comma

Mailchimp Checkbox

• Label (defaults to “Add me to your email list”)
• Checked by default (yes/no)

Guests

• Limit (if any) to the number of guests per party
• You can embed other form fields in this section if there is information to be gathered about the guests only. Example: An event for parents and children, where “Grade Level” is an additional field for the children on the guest list.

By themselves, these blocks are not functional if included outside of one of the special documents created specifically define a form. They are not intended for use within the body of an event post or any other document. I have some ideas about providing a wrapper that would allow you to embed them in other contexts, but for now if you are looking at a document with a headline other than “RSVP Form” you don’t want to be including these blocks.

If you run into glitches with the form blocks not working as promised, let me know in the support forum on WordPress.org.

Overall, I think this is a huge improvement over the system of shortcodes and the primitive form builder provided in earlier versions.

The new form will be used by default on new installs of RSVPMaker on WordPress 5 or greater. Existing RSVPMaker users will see a prompt to upgrade your form on the dashboard. Clicking the Upgrade link will install a new default RSVP Form:Default document, which you can then customize. This default will also be applied to any future events you have on your calendar. Sorry, any customizations you made previously will not be preserved, but I think you’ll find you can re-create them fairly quickly.

A Note on Navigation

Your RSVP form, confirmation message, and any reminder messages you’ve defined are stored as special RSVPMaker documents that aren’t meant to show up on the website. The default RSVP Form and confirmation message can be accessed from the Settings page for RSVPMaker. When you’re viewing one of these default documents, you will see a link at the top of the page to help you navigate back to RSVPMaker Settings.

You can use the same default form for all your events, or you can customize the form for specific events. If you create a custom form (or confirmation message), you will see navigation at the top of the screen to allow you to get back to editing the “Parent Event” or visiting the associated screens for setting options and confirmation messages.

One of the differences between “traditional” WordPress plugin development and creating software that works with the new Gutenberg editor is the scarcity of adequate, understandable documentation.

I speak as a WordPress developer who is largely self-taught, by which I mean I’ve learned by reading books, tutorials and the official WordPress documentation for developers. For virtually anything I wanted to learn how to do, there has almost always been a reasonably clear function definition if not a tutorial or a StackOverflow question and answer that was in the ballpark. Over the years, I have become reasonably proficient in PHP and MySQL and WordPress utility functions, actions and filters. Within those bounds, I like to think I’ve occasionally had an original idea or two.

The Gutenberg framework is in a much different place, in terms of documentation and code examples. There are some good tutorials out there on how to create Gutenberg blocks (units of content that can have their own editor properties). Thank God for create-guten-block, which makes many aspects of setting up your development environment easier if you’re just learning.

There is a Gutenberg Handbook, but a lot of it seems to be written for people who already understand React (the Facebook open source framework from Facebook that Gutenberg is based on). I can do a few things with JQuery but until recently didn’t realize how behind-the-times I was, at least from the viewpoint of enthusiasts for “modern JavaScript.” Telling me that the WordPress state management system is similar to Redux (yet another JavaScript framework often used with React) doesn’t help me.

If I wanted to display a custom notification to be displayed anywhere else on the administrator’s dashboard, there would be dozens of tutorials that would tell me exactly how to do that with a few lines of PHP. But those PHP-generated notifications aren’t displayed on the editor screen when Gutenberg is active. Aside from any technological reasons for this, it’s part of an intentional decluttering of the editor screens.

That means if you want to display a notification on the Gutenberg-powered editor screen, you have to do it with Gutenberg APIs. It has taken me literally months to figure out how to do that. All my Googling for answers came to naught. Finally, I came across a discussion on on the Github issues discussion board for Gutenberg where someone else was asking approximately the same question.

In response, one developer gave a pretty detailed example of how to generate a notification (thank you, Daniel Bachhuber). The only missing piece was some way of making the notification display in response to an event, like a post being saved. Mr. Bachhuber told me I would have to do more research because he didn’t know that, either.

In my use case, certain posts of the type rsvpmaker are used as templates for specific events. The RSVPMaker plugin needs to display a notice prompting the user who has updated a template to click through to another screen if they want to create or update events based on that template. This feature has essentially been broken in RSVPMaker when used in combination with Gutenberg.

To get the rest of the way to an answer, I had to go spelunking through other people’s source code. The routine shown below is loosely based on code Gutenberg uses internally to save metabox content on post save. I wrapped the code modeled on that example around my createNotification command, and finally I had something that worked.

In this example, the url for the admin page where generate event posts based on a template is localized under the rsvpmaker_json variable. On the PHP side, we test that the post is of type rsvpmaker before outputting that variable. In the JavaScript code, we test that the url is set to something other than an empty string.

We then subscribe to Gutenberg events. Every time a triggering event in the editor happens, the subscribe function fires.

We use functions like wp.data.select( ‘core/editor’ ).isSavingPost() to determine what sort of event that is. This checks whether the post is in the process of being saved (and verifies that it’s not an autosave). If yes, then the notice is displayed.

Updated: Originally, I had an issue with the same notification being added repeatedly if the user made additional changes and updating the post again. After attending Zac Gordon’s talk at WordCamp Miami, I realized I could explore the currently registered notifications from the console using

I saw that my notices were being assigned a random id. Once I added id:’rsvptemplateupdate’ to the createNotice command, the problem with notifications being added repeatedly went away. Apparently, I just had to give the notifications system a clue of how to check whether it had already been added.

I’m still getting all this figured out.

If you are evaluating RSVPMaker for use on one of your own projects, our new demo sandbox site makes it easier to check out all the features you would use as an event author or site editor. Only a few admin functions are off limits, allowing you to test setting up events, changing parameters such as event pricing, and embedding an event listing or single event in a blog post or web page.

Log in here (no password required):

In response to a user request (underwritten with a donation to the cause), RSVPMaker now allows you to establish coupon codes for discount pricing for an event.

Specific pricing, such as an “Early Bird” registration offer can also have an expiration date (that’s not new).

Another feature, probably long overdue, is that you can have RSVPMaker send a “Payment Required” reminder when someone registers for your event but doesn’t pay. In e-commerce terms, this is essentially an “abandoned shopping cart” problem that needs solving if you want people to pay for an event in advance and do not want them showing up thinking they are registered when they failed to complete the registration with a payment.

This is still optional. Some groups I’ve worked with, such as professional networking organization, want people to register in advance but are fine with taking a check at the door. They offer online payment as an option, not a requirement. On the other hand, if you’re registering people for an online class, you know you have to get that payment online (no “at the door” for you).

To turn on payment reminders, go to the RSVPMaker settings screen, Payments tab.

If you want to change the notification headline or body copy from the defaults, you can do that from the Notification Templates screen under RSVP Mailer. I provide codes for including elements such as the email subject line, which are documented at the bottom of that screen.

This is also where you can customize the notification sent to the event owner and the confirmation message sent to the person registering for an event.

Limited Time Content (Updated)

The Limited Time Content wrapper block for Gutenberg has also been updated to allow the option of setting expired content to be automatically deleted. This is a container into which you can place paragraphs, images, and other content (InnerBlocks in Gutenberg terminology). You can then set a start time, an end time, or both.

The Limited Time Content block contents will be hidden if the current time is before the start time or after the end time. The idea is to allow you to display an event promotion — or any other content that only makes sense to display for a limited time, such as a limited-time price for goods or services — without worrying that it will still be showing up weeks later because you forgot to take it down.

By default, you will have to go back into the editor and remove expired content after the end date/time has passed. However, as of release 5.8.5, you can have RSVPMaker automatically delete that block of expired content.

Note: It took me several tries to find a regular expression search and replace pattern that would delete the target block and leave all other content alone. If you’re not inclined to trust the software to do this for you, you can stick with the manual method. If you use the automated method, you may want to make sure you have WordPress configured to track revisions so you can retrieve the deleted content if necessary.